IQNA

TEHRAN (IQNA) – The spirit, purpose and principles of Islam can be applied to the issues and challenges facing the modern world and can considerably help tackle such problems.

This is according to Dr. Oliver Scharbrodt, Professor of
Islamic Studies at the University of Chester, Britain, who paid a visit to Iran
earlier this month to deliver a number of lectures on Islamic studies, Shia
Islam in particular, and other relevant
subjects from an academic perspective.

IQNA conducted an interview with the professor on certain
challenges and issues facing the Islamic world, notably European Muslims.

What follows is a rough transcription of the first part of
the interview.

IQNA: Professor Scharbrodt, at the outset, I would be
grateful if you could introduce yourself and give us a brief description of
your career, professional activities, and academic studies.

Prof. Scharbrodt: My name is Oliver Scharbrodt. I am
professor of Islamic studies at the University of Chester and I am also
director of the Chester Centre for Islamic studies. In terms of my research, I
work on moderate and contemporary Islam, Muslims in Europe, and Shia Islam.

IQNA: Let’s begin with Islam and its status in the 21st
century. Islam and the Muslim world are faced with huge challenges, if not
crises. Given the current situation, how do you see Islamic studies in academic
centers?

Prof. Scharbrodt: Well, there are many challenges involved.
I think that any academic approach to Islamic studies needs to be very much
conscious of all the issues and political problems that exist at the moment.
But I think there is also an opportunity. If you want to be a bit idealistic,
you can say that something bad that is happening is probably an opportunity to
turn it into something good. Although we have problems such as sectarianism and
terrorism, it has obviously increased interests in Islam as it is an
opportunity there to tap into these interests and to promote Islamic studies, and
of course to provide a more accurate image of Islam.

IQNA: Statistics suggest that only around 0.2 percent of the
global Muslim population are involved in acts of violence, committing crimes in
the name of Islam. But this tiny number has brought about grave repercussions
to the detriment of the whole Islamic world. In your opinion, in what ways
could the problem be sorted out?

Prof. Scharbrodt: It is a huge problem and the solution is
not easy. There will be more challenges ahead and I think one thing that is
important in the Muslim community, primarily in the European context, is that
we have a new generation of scholars that have the traditional training that
are deeply embedded in tradition and the knowledge it provides, but they also
understand the particular challenges and issues that young Muslims in
particular face in the West.

I think in the wider Muslim world the solutions are more
complicated because we need to establish societies of which young Muslims feel
part, and that empower them and provide them economic, political and
educational opportunities. Unfortunately, in many parts of the Muslim world, we
are facing autocratic regimes that exclude dissidents, depriving them of
opportunities, which in turn lead to a breeding ground for more radicalization.

IQNA: You have conducted studies on modern, contemporary and
classical forms of Islam, employing both historical and ethnographic research methods.
Your research includes Shia Islam, Islamic messianism and modern Islamic reform
as well as the historical and contemporary presence of Muslims in Europe. Given
the significance of moderation in Islam, how do you define a moderate Muslim,
especially in the current atmosphere where extremism is threatening peace and
stability in the entire world?

Prof. Scharbrodt: I am not quite sure whether I am in a
position to give a very clear definition of that, but I think what we need in
the world today is that Muslim leaders, activists, scholars, and intellectuals
should take some kind of spiritual values, moral standards, and social virtues
of Islam, have a sense of inception, and see how these values can be relevant
to the contemporary world. I am sure that the spirit, purpose and principles of
Islam can be applied to the issues and challenges facing the modern world and
can considerably help tackle such problems. As I said, I am not sure if I am
qualified to define a moderate Muslim but I tried to say what it would mean to
be a Muslim in the modern world.

IQNA: According to latest statistics and figures, the number
of Muslims in the world is on the rise. From your point of view, what would be
the outcomes of the phenomenon to the future of the Islamic Ummah as well as
the international community?

Prof. Scharbrodt: The issue can be dealt with from different
aspects. There are already challenges to cope with in many part of the Muslim
world. There are poor and least developed countries and if the population
increases, it puts particular pressure on infrastructures, economic prospect,
education opportunities, etc. so it could deteriorate the situation in poor
countries. But when observed in the European context, it could be rather
welcoming. The Muslim minorities have grown as well.

I think it is a positive development because it questions
mono-cultural and simplistic definition of European identity as it adds new
dimensions to it. Islam has always been part of European history but he
presence of Muslims today in Europe makes us aware again the Europe has a
strong historical connection with Islam and the religion has always been part
of the continent.

Oliver Scharbrodt is the Professor of Islamic Studies at the
University of Chester, UK. He studied Comparative Religion, Islamic Studies and
Philosophy at the University of Bonn in Germany and completed his graduate
studies and research in London, obtaining his MA and PhD from the School of
Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). After teaching in London, the US and
Ireland, he joined the Department of Theology and Religious Studies in
September 2014.

The same year he was appointed the first Professor of
Islamic Studies in the University of Chester as one of the prime centers for
the academic study of Islam in the UK. Responsible for teaching courses on
Islam, his research interests lie in the intellectual history of modern Islam,
the historical and contemporary presence of Islam in Europe and the role of
mystical, esoteric and millenarian traditions of Islam in the modern world.

At the moment, professor Scharbrodt is the principal
investigator of a research project on Shia communities in Britain and their
links to the Middle East. He is also the executive editor of the Yearbook of
Muslims in Europe.

"Modern Readings of the Qur’an”, "From Hafiz:
Irish Orientalism, Persian Poetry and W. B. Yeats”, "Shaping the Public of
Image of Islam: the Shias of Ireland as moderate Muslims”, and "Erin and
Iran: Cultural Encounters between the Irish and the Iranians, constitute, among
others, some of his works published by globally well-known centers of
publications.